The North State Journal

My first reaction to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech, delivered on Valentine’s Day, at the Munich Security Conference, was, “Last year, President Donald Trump sent the bad cop, Vice President JD Vance. This year, […]

Global leaders, businesses pore over fallout of more US tariff swoons

SEOUL, South Korea — Governments and companies around the world scrambled Saturday to determine the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down some of the Trump administration sweeping global tariffs. The latest […]

Just the way he wrote it up

Ross Atkins wasn’t expecting to get a call from Cleveland. Despite winning 10 games and striking out 91 batters for the 1995 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, he thought his playing career was over. Instead, he […]

Charlotte FC looks to take next step in 2026

CHARLOTTE — On the heels of the most successful campaign in club history, Charlotte FC has entered its fifth MLS season no longer viewed as an expansion upstart but as a contender expected to win. […]

The United States sweeps men’s and women’s hockey golds in Milan

MILAN — The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly a half-century. No miracle needed. Jack Hughes scored less than 2 minutes into overtime and the U.S. beat Canada […]

The win over previously top-ranked Michigan showed the team’s toughness Can No. 1 Duke finish at top?

February 28, 2026

For the 148th week, Duke is the top-ranked team in the nation. There are 21 AP polls in an average season, which means that the Blue Devil have been ranked at No. 1 for the [...]
Citizens for a Safe and Secure Raleigh’s polling highlights broad voter concern Raleigh nonprofit laser-focused on police pay, staffing ahead of March primary

February 28, 2026

RALEIGH — Citizens for a Safe and Secure Raleigh is ramping up its advocacy efforts ahead of the March municipal primary, centering its message on police compensation, staffing levels and downtown safety. The organization, a [...]
The North Carolina Judicial Center is flying a Betsy Ross flag emblazoned with 250 America 250 preparation gains momentum

February 28, 2026

RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly’s America 250 Semiquincentennial Committee continued its celebration work during its meeting this month. Co-chair Sen. Ted Alexander (R-Cleveland) opened the meeting with historical anecdotes for that day’s meeting, [...]
Women and girls have the right to fairness and safety in sports under current N.C. law VAUGHAN: Education group’s party-switching scheme undermines integrity of NC primaries

February 28, 2026

At least a few liberal candidates have an interesting new strategy for overcoming their struggle to win seats in the North Carolina General Assembly: They are pretending to be Republicans. A group called NC Educators [...]
Western N.C. was chosen in part to show the administration’s focus following Hurricane Helene Asheville to host G20 finance ministers

February 27, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Treasury Department will bring some of the world’s most influential economic policymakers to western North Carolina this summer, as Asheville is set to host the 2026 G20 Finance Ministers and [...]

Redemption: How Duke has made up for early season woes

Earlier this season, Duke, the preseason No. 7 women’s basketball team in the county, looked nothing like the modifier. A 93-77 loss to then No. 5 LSU in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Dec. 4 marked […]

NC State picks up statement win over UNC

Well, it looks like the Red Reckoning is back on. After a few tough losses left many fans feeling frustrated with Will Wade’s first season in Raleigh, the NC State Wolfpack men’s basketball team came […]

Can No. 1 Duke finish at top?

For the 148th week, Duke is the top-ranked team in the nation. There are 21 AP polls in an average season, which means that the Blue Devil have been ranked at No. 1 for the […]

NC State picks up statement win over UNC

Can No. 1 Duke finish at top?

For the 148th week, Duke is the top-ranked team in the nation. There are 21 AP polls in an average season, which means that the Blue Devil have been ranked at No. 1 for the […]

Aho’s power play goal leads Hurricanes to win in return

RALEIGH — Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour gave Sebastian Aho the morning off, saying his star center — recently back from winning a bronze medal in Italy — was “run down.” Aho described himself as “gassed” […]

Category 5: Hurricanes start post-Olympic stretch run

RALEIGH — The NHL season resumes for the Hurricanes on Thursday at Lenovo Center as Carolina will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first of 25 remaining regular season games as teams start the […]

Albernaz brings patience to O’s

For the last few seasons, the Baltimore Orioles have been the envy of MLB scouting departments. A steady parade of some of the top prospects in the minor leagues have been working their way through […]

Local products shine at Senior Bowl

The 2026 Senior Bowl was held in Mobile, Alabama this past week and over 100 upperclassman college standouts were invited to take part in hopes of raising their draft stocks. The invitees underwent three days […]

Christian Siriano invites New York Fashion Week guests into surrealist dream

February 23, 2026

NEW YORK — Christian Siriano barely had 48 hours to design his finale gown for his New York Fashion Week show. The iridescent green liquid fabric Siriano had ordered from Italy was stuck in customs […]

Music Review: A post-‘Brat’ Charli xcx broods on the ‘Wuthering Heights’ soundtrack

February 23, 2026

Charli xcx’s soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” is a brooding collection approximating some image of gothic romanticism. Its enjoyable if not revelatory 12 tracks are a collaboration with songwriters and […]

The Word: Perspective with divine inspiration

February 22, 2026

“Be joyful always!” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy!” 2 Corinthians 7:4 Thankfulness or unthankfulness is largely a matter of the attitude of our heart. Two men look at […]

“Wuthering Heights” fails with over-sexualized romance, poorly drawn characters

February 22, 2026

“Wuthering Heights” is based on a classic novel by Emily Brontë. I’ve never read the novel, which is probably for the best. Reports of the movie differing from the novel are actually quite relieving to […]

‘Adolescence,’ ‘Train Dreams’ win top prizes at Film Independent Spirit Awards

Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation “Train Dreams ” won the top film award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles, while “Adolescence” dominated the television categories. Both were released on […]

The stream: Emma Thompson, Jennifer Garner, ‘The Night Agent,’ Dove Cameron

February 20, 2026

The Emma Thompson-led thriller “Dead of Winter” and Hilary Duff’s first full-length album in 11 years are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also, among the […]

SIMMONS: President Trump’s promise-made, promise-kept agenda delivers for North Carolina

February 27, 2026

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address wasn’t just a speech about promises — it was a report on the historic results his administration has delivered for North Carolina and for the country. President […]

MATTHEWS: Ridiculous Democrat arguments against voter ID continue

Democrats have been fearmongering about voter ID for as long as I can remember. North Carolina, in particular, was one of the Republican-run states that leftist groups tried to sue into oblivion over the original […]

HILL: The competitive advantage of nations

Watching news coverage of the Winter Olympics made it impossible to not know that “little” Norway absolutely crushed it by winning 18 gold medals and 41 total. By comparison, the USA garnered 33 total medals […]

ELDER: Jeffries and Schumer denounce Trump’s ‘Racist’ video — but who are they to complain?

On President Donald Trump’s social media platform, someone in the administration — the White House offered different versions of how this happened — posted a 62-second cartoon video set to the song “The Lion Sleeps […]

JOECKS: Democrats face a demographic doom spiral